TimesPulse

The most popular movies among NYTimes.com readers.

Review Summary

Like a thousand other coming-of-age-in-an-ethnic-family dramas, “Falling Awake” puts good intentions and appealing performances into the balance against clichés of dead-end neighborhoods and rebellious (but sensitive) youth. Jay (Andrew Cisneros) spends his days playing guitar for tips in City Hall Park in Lower Manhattan and his nights pumping gas closer to home, in the Bronx. His father is a doorman; his sister lives at home with her two children; and his brother is in Iraq, but you could have guessed all that. — Mike Hale